Shangs
by Salamanderess
Summary: A story two Shangs and how they will never fully understand each other. Pg13 for later chapters.


Shangs Prologue: Fire and Ice 

The air was close to below freezing point yet the group of Shangs-in-training and their teacher and guide did not halt to catch their breath at the thin air or to examine their surroundings closer. Only the strong would endure another year in the frozen mountains for soon the group would be abandoned by their guide and trainer with little if any supplies to survive upon. Each would be given a set of tasks to complete and if they failed to complete all the tasks or banded together to complete each other's tasks they would leave the countryside or try again. Few ever tried again, fewer still survived to call themselves Shangs or survivors of rigorous Shang training.

"Teacher." One of the students breathed mist coming forth with the words, "Is it time yet?" When their teacher and guide nodded they put down their packs and sat upon them waiting their teachers final words and instructions before leaving them to a frozen wasteland.

"You have all done me proud. And I hope that many of you survive the Roof of the World to be called Shangs." After taking a deep breath he continued noting that many of his students were either scared of the final test, worried, exited at the challenge or just wanted to endure, "you may be rest assured that each of the tasks given to you will be different from the ones given to the other students." He reached into his bag and pulled out serval rolled bits of treated parchment and began handing them out.

"You all must understand that if you do not make it out of the final test alive, your families will be notified of your death and be welcomed in finding your body among the frozen countryside. Your are to wait here till sundown then begin your journey and remember the tasks given to you will take more than two years if you do not pace yourself. If you either survived and completed your tasks or just merely survived at the end of a years time meet at the Ice Crown glacier." With that last word the Shang Boar turned and began to jog down an unknown path and within minute he vanished into the snow.

"He forgot to mention if the tasks don't kill us, the weather will." One of the students remarked, which broke the ice with a few shaky laughs.

None of the students set up camp or had a meal: they had to ration everything that could be rationed in order to survive the tasks set before them and many of the Shangs-in-training were giving into curiosity and looking at the parchment trying to think of a way to manage them. With sundown quickly approaching many of the students were stretching and warming up for the start of the race and as soon as sundown came the students parted and went their separate ways.

Jania began her long and treacherous climb to what she hoped was a secluded cave that would protect her from the coming blizzard. She concentrated on putting one hand before another, correcting grip and avoiding potential faults in the cliff face that would lead to her death. Jania had made one such mistake before and if it weren't for her quick reflexes she would have fallen to her death. Pulling herself on top of the cliff, Jania lay there catching her breath knowing that if she didn't move soon she would be frozen stiff.

There was indeed a cave on top of the cliff but it consisted of a few winding tunnels and only one area inside the cave was big enough for a woven mattress and a small yet warm fire. She began cooking the remainder of a large fish she had caught earlier that week and as she did so Jania began thinking about her survival and the overall survival of her best friend Daniel, who was also undertaking the same test she was. They both agreed that they wouldn't stick together or be friendly to each other until the test was over. If they survived.

Eleven months later saw Jania digging a pit in front of a grey-muzzled bear's cave. One of the tasks set for Jania to complete was to kill a grey-muzzled bear and take its fur. And so Jania was making a trap, using the bamboo sticks that were meant for Jania's mattress she had made spikes and was now securing them in the pit. After securing the spikes she would throw a lit dried grass wad that was filled with a jelly-like substance that would explode on contact into the cave effectively scaring the bear out and put it into a rampage so it would charge Jania while she was on the other side of the pit, killing the bear or badly injuring it.

There was only one problem with that plan: Grey-muzzled bears in particular tend to be smart creatures that rarely ever succumb to a trap or so the stories go. They were also extremely large, ferocious and had a reputation of killing people with a single skull-crushing blow. Jania was prepared to offer the bear fish in order for it to walk over the pit even though it was her only remaining food.

Jania threw the wad into the cave and took her position behind the trap. A feral roar echoed through the cave and the bear walked out of the cave and roared again demanding to know why he had been woken from his slumber. Jania offered the fish and lightly placed it before her on the mattress covered with snow. The bear took the bait and charged either at her or the fish she never knew as the mattress collapsed the bear on top of it and it let loose its final roar, a pleading, helpless roar.

Her task wasn't over yet: she still had to skin the bear and remove and meat from the body before the midday blizzards set in. Now for a brief moment Jania had no food or protection from the cold when she was sleeping, but the bearskin proved more than sufficient to warm her and the meat recovered form it was enough to feed her for a week.

Secure in her cave wrapped in the very large bearskin safe from the ensuing blizzard, Jania found that she wished Daniel were here with her, laughing, joking and telling her elaborate legends. She shuddered from the cold and tried to shake the feeling now stronger than ever that she was utterly alone in a cruel environment with nothing to protect her.

A few Shang exercises later fixed those thoughts away but as Jania fell asleep her dreams proved her wrong: trapped in a cold place alone with friends and family dead, completely and utterly alone for eternity.

The day had come, she was packing up her remaining supplies and clothing and fixing her bearskin cloak that had proved useful against sudden blizzards. And so she entered one determined if this blizzard was going to kill her she would die a Shang.

Daniel stood on the glacier shifting his weight carefully from one foot to another as he waited for Jania hoping, no willing that she wasn't lying somewhere unconscious, cold, alone and injured. He sat down on his pack running his fingers through his now long, dark brown hair; crystal eyes searching the now blizzard free horizon for any sign of Jania.

Finding none he resigned himself to thinking of her like he had done the last year and looking at the snow shoes on his feet, once more hoping that she too felt the same way he did. He wasn't sure anymore: Daniel had left subtle hints but so far Jania had give any indication that they were more than 'Just friends.'

That in itself annoyed Daniel but maybe a year of solitude had given her a deeper insight into their relationship.

A figure appeared from the mountains on the horizon slowly getting closer, Daniel quickly stood up and searched the figure for anything that said it was Jania. It wasn't.

"Waiting for someone in particular, Tiger?" the Shang Boar asked humour in his voice. Daniel chose not to answer.

The Shang Boar and the newly arrived Shang-in-training signed the papers that said he was now a Shang and discussed Titles, eventually the Shang was called 'Mongoose' and he left.

Only Daniel had chosen to stay out of the now five Shangs that had come and gone. Another figure appeared from the mountains at first Daniel thought it was a bear but as it got closer he saw that it was, with disbelieving eyes Jania and he restrained himself from running towards her and hugging the life out of her.

Jania stumbled to her knees as a tremor shook the glacier, now looking at he grown she watched in mute fascination the snow and ice that made up the glacier melt and the ground beneath her turn a angry red and the actual ground beneath the glacier rose up. The tremors stopped but lava began to seep out from the rising ground and she screamed as the lava seeped closer and trapped her.

Daniel watched in utter horror as the thousand or so metre ground behind Jania reformed itself steaming and spitting out lava melting ice and creating steaming ground. If finally came to Daniel that she was trapped. Jania was incredibly hot and the lava tide was closing in.

Daniel pulled of his snowshoes and ran toward the ever-expanding pond of lava that was now crusty then jumped it to land beside an unconscious Jania. Seeing that he pulled her onto his back and prepared to do another run and jump when he realized there wasn't enough room. Feeling close to a faint he stopped Jania from falling of his back, the crusty lava was still oozing closer and Daniel felt weak that Jania would never know how he felt, let alone how she felt. And then he jumped.

He jumped onto a particularly crusty bit of sticky lava, sinking in slightly only boots and thick socks protected his feet and adrenaline stopped him from feeling immediate pain and Daniel jumped from one bit of crusty lava to the next getting closer to the snow, he jumped to the last one and felt Jania slip off. He quickly grabbed her and jumped the final hurdle before landing heavily on snow.

The Shang Boar quietly watched the scene unfold doing nothing.

Daniel quickly kicked of his boots and socks hearing the sizzle of burning leather being cooled by snow. He heard mumbling and when he looked down he felt his cheeks burn: he was lying on top of Jania and by the looks of it she was waking up.

Jania remembered the tremor, she remembered seeing Daniel and then the lava and then fainting but now there was a pressure on her body. Mumbling she opened her eyes and saw Daniels face with his bush. Her breath got caught in her throat and she stared into Daniels crystal eyes never before noticing the different shades of crystal, he lowered his eyes as he felt the pain of walking through lava set in.

Daniel closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the full wave of pain hit him as he tried to ignore the pain.

Jania looked at Daniels face wondering what was causing him pain; she got out from under him and saw the red hot metal on his feet, Jania quickly helped him up telling him that he had to stand on the snow to cool the metal on his feet.

The Shang Boar moved to where the Shang Tiger was attempting to stand and announced, "I was wrong about you, you are no Tiger.' He said to Daniel who looked at his teacher in mute pain, feet still sizzling in the snow.

"You are a Griffin, an Immortal." With that the Shang Boar moved to his pack removed a vial filled with a pinkish substance, spilled it on the ground and motioned for Jania to move him onto it.

When he did so his feet sizzled violently and Daniel fainted from the incredible pain. He fell on the snow and revealed his shiny metal soles on his feet. The Shang Boar returned to his pack and removed two papers, which he hastily wrote on and signed then gave to Jania shortly before leaving the pair.

Jania looked at the papers one of them said 'Shang Griffin' with Daniels name underneath it; the other said 'Shang Salamander' with Jania's name underneath it with a small note enclose on a equally small piece of parchment:

_Jania,_

_You survived lava hot enough to melt metal; you truly are a fire-loving salamander._

It took Jania three days to move both Daniel and the packs from where the new mountain was being formed. When Daniel awoke he blushed, lowered his gaze and murmured thanks when Jania gave him a bowl of fish stew.

Jania didn't know why Daniel kept on avoiding her gaze: she was grateful that he saved her from the lava and didn't want to be at offs with Daniel when they had so much to talk about.

"We were the last ones." Jania said eating her own bowl of fish stew sensing the awkward atmosphere.

Daniel nodded and continued eating, when he finished he remembered his feet and took a close look at them: the soles were completely steel from the steel ore in the mountain and the metal was a least three inches thick. He remembered something, "Jania." He said still looking at his feet, Jania looked up from her food, "What am I now? I mean what creature?"

"Griffin." She replied, Daniel looked up and fixed Jania with a questioning gaze wondering what she was, "Salamander." Jania said simply, correctly interpreting the look, "Don't ask, just help me pack up."

It was now or never, Daniel though, "Jania, I-" he sighed, he couldn't say it, "I need new boots."

**A/n: So how was it? This is my first fan-fic in ages as I have lost and recently discovered my inspiration. All it took was a book on the Easter Islands, however weird that my sound.**


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